On our first anniversary, K.C. and I gifted each other a Sizzix Big Shot “at home” letterpress as a play on the traditional paper anniversary gift. We were so excited this year to finally break it in and design our 2023 Christmas card.
The process itself takes a little bit of time, but it is a lot of fun and super satisfying. After testing out a few cards, adjusting the thickness (using various shims of paper that we had on hand with the goal of dialing in just the right amount of pressure between the plate and the printed paper), we were ready to get started.
- Start out with designing a plate. I am very lucky that K.C knows how to use design tools to create exactly what I was envisioning. We collaborated on a design and he was able to crank it out pretty quickly. We used Boxcar Press to have our plate made and were very impressed with the quality. It is nice too that we can keep the plate as nice memory of what we designed and grow our collection over the years. And we can quickly get a new card pressed if needed.
- You roll and/or blot your ink onto the plate-focusing on the raised areas. For this design, we leaned into a more retro holiday theme with faded reds, a vibrant blue, and a classic leafy green. Funny enough, the ink set we used was garden theme (which we spent all summer working on) but worked perfectly for what we wanted. If using a stamp, I highly recommend the application process of a heavy blot down with the tiniest bit of a twist on your way up off of the plate. Think, “pounce and twist”. We initially rubbed the stamp on the plate and the ink transfer wasn’t heavy enough for our linking. All just trial and error!
- Then, you line up your paper under your plate and start rolling! Don’t go too fast, you want the plate to have enough time to be in contact with the paper so you get a nice impression. We used this card stock and yes…we opted to have it cut since it saved us so much time. And we also lucked out with finding very inexpensive envelopes from Amazon.
- Let it dry! We pressed the front of the cards first in the morning and went back to work on the back side of the card in the evening.
One thing to keep in mind too is every card will be different, and that is the best part with at home letterpressing. Each one will have their own perfect little imperfections. We appreciate that everyone on our list will receive something unique and made/designed with love by us.
We are excited to use our letterpress for other projects too, like making our own stationary and other cards for future holidays. I hope this inspires you to try another craft in the New Year and give an at home letterpress a try!
